APTA
has released a statement
commending the final report of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Medical Rehabilitation
Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The association supports the
panel's call for the development and implementation of a NIH rehabilitation research
plan that is periodically updated, elevation of the role of the National Center
for Rehabilitation Research within NIH's structure, and the elimination of "Medical"
from the name of the center to better reflect the inclusive and
multidisciplinary nature of rehabilitation, among other recommendations.

APTA
members Rebecca Craik, PT, PhD, FAPTA, Anthony Delitto, PT, PhD, FAPTA, and Alan M. Jette, PT, PhD, FAPTA, served on the 13-member panel.
The panel, formed in August 2011, was charged with assessing rehabilitation
research across NIH while focusing on the National Center for Medical
Rehabilitation Research.